ASA bans GHD ads for being offensive

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says the campaign is offensive to Christians as it eroticises their religion and uses the line Thy will be done from the Lords Prayer. The letter T also appears in the style of a crucifix.

A campaign for hair-styling brand GHD featuring women in lingerie praying in their bedrooms, using the tagline “A new religion for hair”, has been banned for eroticising the Christian religion.

The campaign, created by TBWA/Manchester, has been criticised by the Archdeacon of Liverpool and attracted 22 complaints from the public.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says the campaign is offensive to Christians as it eroticises their religion and uses the line “Thy will be done” from the Lord’s Prayer. The letter T also appears in the style of a crucifix.

One execution features a woman in her underwear praying in Italian, with the words “may my new curls make her feel choked with jealousy” on the screen.

Jemella, the company that produces GHD, says previous ads with the same strapline have been allowed to be aired, but the ASA ruled that these ads are likely to cause serious offence and cannot be shown again.

TV ads for Danone’s Actimel range by RKCR/Y&R have also been banned for claiming that scientific evidence of the product’s health benefits was available on the company’s website.

Two people complained that the website only had an overview of the evidence. The ASA ruled that the ad was misleading and could not be shown again.

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